Nightmares at Three in the Morning
by javamoose
Summary: A one-shot of how Leo and Nico become friends aboard the Argo II.


_It's pitch black, but Leo sees everything perfectly. It is obvious though that everyone else present in the cavern, except the monsters lurking about, can't see anything. The two of them hold each other tightly, their eyes dilated from both the dark and the fear._

_The gaunt girl with the dirty blonde hair and bloodied face cradles the head of the boy who's in the same state as she, maybe even worse. His black hair is matted with blood and his breathing is shallow. He's not sleeping though. Sleep is impossible in Tartarus._

_The boy's arm is bent at a wrong angle and he winces at the slightest movement. Tears spill from the girl's hallow gray eyes. Her hands shake as she runs them through the boy's hair. She whispers things only he can hear, every now and then he nods in agreement._

_Then there's a booming laugh that sounds like a knife sliding against a rock. At this, the boy curls up and tightly shuts his eyes, muttering, "He's not here, he's not here, he's not here, he's not here."_

_Simultaneously, the laughter that resembles the sound of a million bees buzzing in a hive is heard. The blonde girl lets go of the boy and covers her ears shaking her head. _

_The monsters observing them cackle, pleased to see Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase crumble down to this. The same demigods that had killed them are now here with them and not coping with it well. There is uproarious laughter when the pair begins to sob._

_In unison, the monsters surrounding the two demigods approach them with malicious eyes and talons extended._

Leo's eyes snap open and he's breathing hard. He sits upright and covers his mouth with his hands and tries to control his breathing that way. His heart races and his entire body trembles.

He wishes he can tell himself it's just a nightmare, but when you're a demigod you can't. He knows that what he's just seen is an exclusive look of the hell Annabeth and Percy are going through.

_They wouldn't be down there if I hadn't open that stupid fortune cookie, _he thinks to himself for the millionth time. _It's all my goddamn fault they plunged to their deaths, mine and only mine._

His alarm clock reveals that it's a little bit after three in the morning. With a heavy sigh, Leo changes out of his pajamas and into his usual outerwear. He starts heading out to the deck when he hears the muffled screams from down the hall.

Leo forgets about his problems and runs at full speed toward the last door of the hallway. He slams his shoulder into the door and opens it easily.

Nico lies at his bed, fully clothes, shoes and all. He pulls at his hair and tears spill from his eyes. He's hollering at the top of his lungs.

At first Leo thinks he's awake, but soon learns that he's very much asleep. Nico twist and turns, heaving sobs and screaming, "Leave me alone!"

Leo shuts the door behind him so the others won't wake up. He runs to Nico and starts shaking him harshly. Leo doesn't stop shoving Nico until he finally opens his eyes.

Nico's eyes break Leo's heart. They're full mad panic and paralyzing fear. At first Leo just stands at a distance staring, but soon he finds himself sitting next to Nico with an arm around him, telling him everything's okay.

Nico only ever talks with his sister, so Leo expects this to be uncomfortable for the kid. He expects Nico to pull away from him, but instead he slumps against Leo and cries openly.

It really hits Leo that this is just a kid. A thirteen year old boy who's dealing with things no one his age should be facing. Things that no one should be dealing with actually.

Hazel had told Leo Nico di Angelo's story. How his mother was killed by Zeus, how he was left at a hotel for decades without aging, how his sister died, how he wandered alone ever since.

Leo remembers the time this kid spent by himself in Tartarus. He's seen glimpses of it through dreams and still doesn't understand how Nico escaped that place without losing his sanity.

After a while, Nico calms down, but he doesn't pull away.

"Hey man, it's okay." Leo reassures him again, because he doesn't know what else to say. He's new to this 'comforting others' thing.

Nico pulls away a couple minutes later and rubs the tears out of his eyes. He's still heaving for air, but he's in a much calmer state. Nico leans forward, planting his elbows on his knees and pressing his hands against his eyes.

Leo contemplates leaving, but he's worried about leaving Nico like this on his own.

Finally, after several minutes of silence, Leo says, "Want to get some food, because I'm starved."

Nico looks up and his eyes narrow, "_What?_"

"I can't be the only one who feels famished after a good old traumatizing dream," he says, stretching his arms upward.

He continues to gawk at Leo.

"Yes? No?"

Nico nods slightly and follows Leo out of the room and out into the dark hallway. With his peripheral vision, he notices the relief that falls over Nico when he realizes everyone is still in bed asleep. They make their way toward the Mess Hall and get a plate, that immediately fills with frijoles, eggs, cream, and tortillas for Leo. He sneaks a glance at Nico's plate and sees a small stash of cookies appear.

"I'm sorry if I woke you up," Nico finally says after having eaten three of the chocolate chip cookies.

"Funny story, I was actually awake. I was heading up to get some fresh hair when I heard you."

Nico furrows his eyebrows, "What were you doing awake at that hour?"

Leo shrugs, and through a mouthful of tortilla he replies, "Had a nightmare of my own, didn't I tell you?"

The kid nods solemnly and looks a bit relieved by the fact that Leo's nightmare happened. "Thank you for helping me," he says at last with obvious discomfort.

For some reason, this makes Leo grins. He waves a dismissive hand, "We're all friends here, don't worry about it, man."

"Hazel told me you keep seeing Percy and Annabeth in Tartarus," and from the way he winces afterwards, Leo can tell that Nico immediately regrets his decision of saying that.

"Yeah, actually, I just woke up from one of those right now. They were pretty beaten up and surrounded by monsters."

Nico shudders at some memory perhaps, and says, "They'll be okay. They're the best demigods I've ever met. If anyone can get out of there, it's those two. Gods know they've sent the most monsters down there than anybody."

Leo heart races a bit when Nico says that. "Wouldn't that mean there would be many monsters thirsting for revenge on those two then?"

Nico looks down and doesn't answer.

The odd pair eat silently.

This happens every other night. Leo has a nightmare, hears Nico, goes and comforts him, then the two go to the Mess Hall to eat their personalized meals. Sometimes they switch roles and Nico is the one comforting Leo.

Each time it gets less weird and more natural. They eventually reach the point where there's no awkward silence and manage to tell each other jokes at the Mess Hall (even Nico, who would've thought he could?).

Soon enough, their friendship leaks into the daylight hours. They hang out on deck, Nico helps Leo do repairs, Leo helps Nico with his chores.

The oddest pair anyone has ever seen, though really, they're not all that different.


End file.
